Some have suggested the immediate plan was to try and make sure all Twelve Rounds were completed, but I think Charlo changed his mindset when put down in the Seventh Round. He had felt the power of Canelo at that point and there was nothing anyone could have told him to get him to 'go out on his shield' like some wanted to see.
While there are some that may believe this ends Jermell Charlo's chances of securing some big fights, the feeling is that he will be back when moving back down to Light Middleweight. The Middleweight Division in which his twin brother Jermall is one of the Champions is also a potential future for Jermell Charlo seeing as it is as weak as it has been in a long time, but the likes of Tim Tszyu and Terence Crawford are serious options at 154 pounds and that has to be the direction the Texan is looking at.
There was a big time feel about the Canelo-Charlo fight last week, but cards are not up to that level this week.
In saying that, there are two decent looking main events in the United Kingdom and United States, which should keep things ticking along for Boxing fans before the YouTubers take over next weekend.
Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington
If this fight had taken place a couple of years ago, Josh Warrington is likely to have gone into it as the World Champion and a strong favourite.
However, in October 2023, it is Leigh Wood who holds a World Title and who is considered the man on the up, even though he is the older of the two.
The strong win in the rematch with Mauricio Lara has just raised the Leigh Wood stock and the only disappointment is that a deal could not be made with Nottingham Forest to host this as the City Ground. That may still be a possibility for Wood in 2024 as long as he is able to come through this defence, although it may also be a time when he is operating in a higher weight class.
He has admitted that making the Featherweight limit is becoming a bit too difficult, but Wood did look stronger on the scales compared with Josh Warrington. We have not seen the Leeds man in ten months and there are plenty of miles on the clock for Warrington, which makes it difficult to imagine him earning the upset.
What we will see from Josh Warrington is the courage to get forward and try and unleash on Leigh Wood, but this may only play into the hands of the Champion. He has proven to be heavy handed in the latter years of his career and if there are any struggles being felt by Josh Warrington, Leigh Wood may be able to expose those.
The expectation is that neither fighter will be willing to take a backwards step and that can only be good news for the fans.
Ultimately the momentum in the respective careers is with Leigh Wood and he might be able to put together enough to eventually grind down and break down the former World Champion. Both fighters have been Stopped before so this war of attrition may come down to who has a bit more left in the tank and the feeling is that Leigh Wood is that fighter.
There are a couple of intriguing fights on the undercard, most notably the Kieron Conway vs Linus Udofia.
Neither is unbeaten and this is a crossroads fight that genuinely feels like a 50/50.
Both have lost fights when stepping up, but the Linus Udofia effort against Denzel Bentley may just give him the edge in this bout if he can replicate the levels reached.
Kieron Conway has shown plenty in his career, and he is a capable fighter, but he may just come up short in another step up.
Gilberto Ramirez vs Joe Smith Jr
Over in the United States, two former Light Heavyweights have decided to meet at a Cruiserweight limit.
Both Gilberto Ramirez and Joe Smith Jr came up short against the Kings of the 175 Division, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev respectively, and are looking to bounce back on Saturday.
Out of the two, the feeling is that Gilberto Ramirez has underachieved, despite his record, and Joe Smith Jr has massively overachieved. However, at 34 years old and with Artur Beterbiev exposing some serious defensive issues, you have to wonder how much Smith Jr has left in the tank.
His team have reportedly asked for this fight to be reduced from Twelve Rounds to Ten Rounds, which is raising red flags, and Gilberto Ramirez has the tools to beat a fighter that is on a level that he may never have expected.
Trusting Zurdo is not always a good way to go, but he might come through what is expected to be a firefight.
We have Bektermir Melikuziev on the undercard and he should be able to win his fight with Alantez Fox relatively quickly.
MY PICKS: Leigh Wood to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 4.20 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Linus Udofia @ 1.83 Coral (1 Unit)
Gilberto Ramirez to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.25 Bet365 (2 Units)
Bektermir Melikuziev to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.20 Coral (2 Units)
Boxing 2023: 45-80, - 22.50 Units (233 Units Staked, - 9.66% Yield)
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